MATHEWS, THIRIMANNE SCORE FIFTIES, GUIDE LANKA TO 165/4 IN KOLKATA TEST
Replying to 172, Mathews, Thirimanne’s 99run stand for third wicket tests India bowlers
The ball danced all of Saturday but as conditions improved, the bat too got into the swing of things showing that even in the sub-continent, a rivetting day’s Test cricket is possible with spin playing a fringe part.
At stumps on Day Three, called 41 minutes before scheduled stop, Sri Lanka were 165/4 with Dinesh Chandimal on 13 and Niroshan Dickwella on 14. India, resuming on 74/5, were all out for 172 with Cheteshwar Pujara (52) top-scoring before being flummoxed by one from Lahiru Gamage that jagged back and went through the gate.
Five wickets fell in the first session and two each in two thereafter but as the sun emerged late, Lahiru Thirimanne (51) and Angelo Mathews (52) also produced the first partnership of substance, worth 99 runs for the third wicket. It could have been nipped a lot earlier though had Shikhar Dhawan pouched a regulation offering at first slip from Thirimanne. The bowler to suffer was Umesh Yadav. Thirimanne was on 27 with Sri Lanka on 70/2.
In his second spell and within five runs, Yadav got both after Bhuvneshwar Kumar had accounted for openers Dimuth Karunaratne and Sadeera Samarawickrama. Mohammed Shami didn’t get a wicket but through three lively spells asked questions Sri Lanka’s batsmen often had no answer to. The fourth was interrupted by a right leg injury.
Batsmen often looked sheepish after Shami breached their defence without disturbing the furniture or taking an edge. Yadav ended the third wicket partnership and also got Mathews but after both had been softened by Shami during an intense five-over spell. Frustrating it was for Shami but it was also fascinating to watch an intelligent pace bowler making the best of friendly conditions.
Shami got Samarawickrama to flash and miss, came close to dismissing Karunaratne with sharp inward movement and had Thirimanne hopping with an eighth-over bouncer. When Mathews hit him for successive boundaries on either side of the wicket, he came back with a ripper that squared up the batsman.
Kumar was hit for a first-ball four by Samarawickrama but he too kept batsmen guessing about the one that would dart in. Ask Karunaratne, who offered no shot and was out leg-before. Samarawickrama was scalped by one that went away, the batsman showing he hadn’t learnt well the importance of not flashing outside the offstump.
As the wicket dried --- Sri Lanka got to their 50 and 100 way faster than India --Thirimanne and Mathews doggedly rebuilt the innings till Virat Kohli stooped to conquer at second slip. They were repeatedly tested by bowlers who, barring Yadav, rarely strayed in line. But like Pujara, both took every scoring opportunity. It didn’t look like this was Thirimanne’s second Test in 2017 and Mathews’ first after a calf injury.